Rivian's Next AI Trick: Order Your Coffee Before You Arrive

Rivian owners will soon be able to hand off more daily chores to the vehicle’s built-in AI, with a slate of new assistant features slated to arrive in 2027. Chief Software Officer Wassym Bensaid outlined the roadmap during an appearance on the Plugged-In Podcast, describing a system that reaches well beyond cabin controls.

Beyond the chatbot

The Rivian Assistant debuted in May, and the company has been steadily widening its reach since. Google Calendar support landed at launch, letting drivers shuffle meetings from behind the wheel, and Gmail connectivity followed in October.

What comes next is more ambitious. Bensaid describes an assistant that plugs the car into a driver’s personal digital life — and eventually into a wider web of “agentic experiences” from other providers.

One example he offered: coffee. The Assistant would figure out the right shop to order from, time the order correctly, and have the drink waiting at the right temperature when you pull in.

“We’re very close. We’re talking about things that we will launch in 2027.” — Wassym Bensaid, Rivian Chief Software Officer

Service, handled quietly in the background

The bigger shift may be on the service side. According to Bensaid, the AI will be able to flag problems before the owner notices, schedule the appointment without being asked, and confirm the service center has the necessary parts on hand ahead of arrival.

• Proactive diagnostics: the vehicle identifies issues itself
• Automatic booking: appointments get scheduled behind the scenes
• Parts readiness: the service center is stocked before you drive in

That combination, he argues, cuts waiting time for customers while giving Rivian a meaningful cost advantage on service — an area where every EV maker is watching expenses closely.

Growing pains and a long-term target

Current features have not been flawless. Owners have reported rough edges, and Bensaid acknowledged the tuning work still underway — some of it in-house, some of it shared with partners responsible for grounding requests and optimizing them.

The end goal is thorough. Rivian wants voice and AI to eventually cover everything a driver can currently do by tapping the touchscreen, a direct product of deep operating-system integration.

“Our philosophy is eventually… you will be able to do everything that you’re doing with your fingers on the screen,” Bensaid said. Nothing has been given a firm launch date beyond the 2027 window, and owners may see features roll out gradually as reliability improves.